Blotter-holder.



No. 647,206. Patented Apr. m, I900.

- c.'s. TREADWAY.

BLoTTEn HOLDER.

Application filed July .10, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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//v VEN TOR MZQMV lhurrnn STATES PATENT. Orricn CHARLES SETH TREADlVAY, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT.

BLOTTERe-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters-Patent No. 647,206 dated April 10, 1900.

Application filed July 10, 1899- To all whom may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLnsSETH TREAD- W'AY, of Bristol, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Blotter- IIolders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for securing blotters, drawing-paper, and similar materials to the tops of tables or desks.

Formerly tables and desks were usually supplied with a covering of cloth or leather, and it was customary to secure sheets of blotting-paper or d rawing-paper or other material to their tops by means of thumb-tacks, which were pressed through the material to be se cured into the material covering the top of the desk. It has come now to be the custom to construct desks and tables with tops or writing-surfaces of wood, which is usually of fine finish and very often of fine material. Various devices have also been employed for the purpose above described, none of which, however, have seemed to meet the demand nor answer all the requirements of such a device.

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are indicated by similar letters in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a part of a desk or table with the hereinafter-described device applied thereto holding the blotter or drawing-paper firmly thereon. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bushing. Fig. 3 is an inverted view of the screw-fastener. Fig. 4 is a central vertical section on line 4: at of Fig. 1. V

The device is herein represented as a bushing D, with a tapped orifice e and with a spline 01 extending out on one side of the bushing. This bushing is illustrated as set in the top of the desk or table, as in Fig. 4, with the top flush with the top of the table or desk. The spline (Z is only necessary to prevent the bushing from turning in the orifice constructed for its reception, and the spline is not necessary if the orifice is made so small that the bushing can be driven into it and be held tightly, so as not to turn. If

.in position over it.

Serial No. 723,273. (No model.)

- essential that the orifice be smaller than the bushing, but the bushing may be comparatively loose in the orifice.

Fig. 3 represents a screw-fastenelywith head 13 and screw 0, adapted to screw firmly into the tapped orifice e. The head 13 is slightly rounded and thin, so as to present no perceptible obstruct-ion on the top of the table or desk. In the drawings the head B is shown to be slotted, so as to permit easy manipulation by the user. If this slot is employed, the usermay use a screw-driver or penknife to fasten the screw into the bushing. This is, however, a preferable construction and is not an essential feature of the invention, because the device is operative with a head 13, having a plain top, the screw being aplain machine-screw fitting accurately and smoothly into the tapped orifice.

I am aware of various devices heretofore constructed depending for their usefulness upon the expansion of a bushing or other material by the turning of a screw therein. In this device there is no expansion of the bushin g, the design merely being to hold the bushing with moderate firmness either by a close fit of the same in the wood or by the use of a spline projecting slightly into the wood.

The operation of the device is plain from the above description. The bushing is set into-the top of the table, as illustrated in Fig. 4, and the drawing-board or blotter is placed The screw is then driven through the paper or board and screwed down into the orifice provided for it. The head B being Hat and rounded with a very thin edge, it presents no protuberance of an objectionable character upon the desk above the blotter and at the same time the blotter is firmly held in position. When no blotter or drawing-board is needed, the screw may be laid one side, or if screwedinto the bushing it presents no noticeable protuberance upon the surface of the desk. As many of these devices can be provided for a desk or table as the needs of the individual user make necessary or convenient.

Modifications in the matter of form, dimensions, and details may be made in the device described without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. The herein-described fastener consisting of a non-expanding bushing provided with a tapped orifice for insertion into the top of a desk or table, and a screw coacting therewith to hold a blotter, or drawing-board, firmly thereon, substantially as described.

2. A blotter-holder consisting of a non-expanding bushing, provided with a spline and having a tapped orifice, for insertion into the top of a desk or table and a broad-headed :rew coacting therewith to hold the blotter firmly thereon, substantially as described.

3. A blotter-holder consisting of a non-expanding bushing, provided with a spline to prevent the same from turning and havinga tapped orifice, for insertion into'the top of a desk or table, and a thin broadheaded screw with a slot in the top thereof to coact with said bushing to hold the blotter firmly on the top 

